Excerpt:
President Obama on Monday condemned calls from Republican presidential candidates to only allow Christian refugees from Syria into the United States, describing the push as "shameful" and "not American."
In a press conference following the G-20 meeting in Antalya, Turkey, Obama dug in his heels on allowing 10,000 new refugees into the country this year despite increasing opposition from conservatives following the terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday evening.
"The people who are fleeing Syria are the most harmed by terrorism, they are the most vulnerable as a consequence of civil war and strife," Obama said in an unprompted defense of his plan.